Manuel Onwu

Manuel Onwu Villafranca (born 11 January 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Odisha FC in the Indian Super League.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Onwu and the second or maternal family name is Villafranca.

Manuel Onwu
Personal information
Full name Manuel Onwu Villafranca
Date of birth (1988-01-11) 11 January 1988
Place of birth Tudela, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Odisha
Number 24
Youth career
Valtierrano
2002–2006 Tudelano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Tudelano
2007–2012 Osasuna B 106 (23)
2007–2008 → Iruña (loan) 36 (19)
2008 → Alzira (loan) 4 (1)
2012–2015 Osasuna 31 (2)
2015 Dinamo Tbilisi 10 (3)
2015–2016 Lleida Esportiu 24 (10)
2016–2018 Lorca 41 (9)
2018–2019 UCAM Murcia 45 (12)
2019–2020 Bengaluru 6 (0)
2020 → Odisha (loan) 4 (7)
2020– Odisha 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 January 2021

Club career

Born in Tudela, Navarre to a Nigerian father and a Spanish mother, and raised in neighbouring Valtierra,[1] Onwu started playing with Club Atlético Valtierrano then moved to local CD Tudelano, making his senior debut with the latter in 2006, in the fourth division. The following year he signed with neighbouring CA Osasuna, being assigned to its B team and going on to serve two loans in the lower leagues subsequently.[2]

In the 2011–12 season, Onwu scored 11 goals in 30 matches with the reserves in the third level. On 11 March 2012 he made his first-team – and La Liga – debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao.[3] He made his first start two rounds later, in a 2–0 away victory over Levante UD (71 minutes played).[4]

In the summer of 2015, after a fleeting spell in the Georgian Erovnuli Liga with FC Dinamo Tbilisi, Onwu returned to his country and its third tier, going on to represent Lleida Esportiu, Lorca FC and UCAM Murcia CF.[5] He achieved promotion with the second club at the end of the 2016–17 campaign by netting eight times, but also dealt with injury and bureaucratic problems.[6]

On 17 July 2019, free agent Onwu signed with Indian Super League defending champions Bengaluru FC.[7] The following 28 January, he was loaned to Odisha FC in the same competition.[8][9][10] He scored his first hat-trick as a professional on 23 February, in the 4–4 home draw against Kerala Blasters FC.[11]

Onwu joined Odisha on a permanent one-year contract in September 2020.[12]

References
  1. Onwu, una promesa de futuro para el presente (Onwu, future promise for today) Archived 8 February 2013 at Archive.today; Noticias de Navarra, 14 March 2012 (in Spanish)
  2. Vallejo, María (7 November 2019). "Manu Onwu, de Valtierra a Bangalore" [Manu Onwu, from Valtierra to Bangalore] (in Spanish). Diario de Navarra. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  3. Bilbao brought back to earth; ESPN Soccernet, 11 March 2012
  4. Euro dream alive for Osasuna; ESPN Soccernet, 25 March 2012
  5. "Manu Onwu completa la delantera universitaria" [Manu Onwu completes the collegiate attack] (in Spanish). La Verdad. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  6. Martínez Sánchez, José (26 December 2017). "Anuario VAVEL Lorca FC 2017: la delantera sin gol" [Lorca FC 2017 VAVEL yearbook: the goalless forward line] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  7. "Bengaluru FC signs Spanish forward Manuel Onwu". The Hindu. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  8. "ISL: Odisha dealt Santana injury blow, loans Onwu as replacement". The Hindu. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  9. Mukherjee, Soham (8 February 2020). "Odisha FC's Josep Gombau – Manuel Onwu showing that he is a very good player". Goal. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  10. "Manuel Onwu finds redemption after poor start to ISL career". Yahoo! Finance. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  11. Kamath, Sooraj (23 February 2020). "A point each for Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters FC in eight-goal thriller". Goal. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  12. Ingale, Shreyash (12 September 2020). "ISL – Odisha FC retains Manuel Onwu after his heroics last season". Indian Football Team for World Cup. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
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